


Falling into you

by ETex



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Light Angst, Reader-Insert, Romantic Fluff, Slow Build, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-10
Updated: 2018-09-18
Packaged: 2019-07-10 17:42:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15954329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ETex/pseuds/ETex
Summary: Prompto fell for you, literally, and suddenly your lonely life in Lestallum brightens up.(Rating will go up as chapters are written)





	1. Falling at your feet

Lestallum was painfully hot this summer, as it usually was.

Men squeezed themselves into the cramped alleyways to attempt to hide from the glaring sun, children were made to stay under the tall umbrellas in the town square and they pouted dramatically as adults coated them in suncream and stuck sun hats on their heads. Ice cream vendors were out in full force, raking in gil as queues of people waited to be served a sweet treat that would save them from the heat if only for a minute.

But in the end it was useless you thought frustratedly as you pressed your way through the centre of town. With so many people about and the plant nearby there was no way to keep cool in the city so you had decided to avoid it all together when you woke up.

You’d taken refuge at the nearby river early this morning, taking a bus and hauling your art equipment with you to the blissfully cool bankment, dipping your feet in the water and sighing in relief. You could have spent the entire day there, sketching the scenery around you and painting the pale blue water that flowed from the surrounding mountains but as the sun began to fall in the sky you knew it was time for you to leave.  
While some parts of the river were harmless and safe enough if you kept to yourself and didn’t make a lot of noise, you’d learnt which spots to hike to and which to avoid, staying outside the city at night was a death wish. Daemons owned this land now and you didn’t want to run into a group of Sahagin with only your palette knife to protect you.

The bus back had been a nightmare, sweaty bodies all cramped together waiting to be back into the safety of Lestallum’s light. There was no room to sit so you had to stand, cursing the fact you’d chosen to bring half your art supplies in the canvas bag hanging heavily from your shoulder. It didn’t help you had been forced to stand next to a man who kept leering at you, giving you obvious up and down looks and pressing into your side any chance he got. You were close to grabbing one of your paint brushes and shoving it into the man's eye socket if he tried to rub against you one more time.

You practically ran off the bus when it got into town, weaving your way through the growing crowds as the women got off work. Luckily the man hadn’t been able to follow, the groups of people pushing to and fro saving you from another awkward encounter with the creep.

Your relief was short lived however as you struggled to get through the crowds growing around the street vendors, you eyed the kehabs hungrily as you went but you weren't desperate enough to wait in the queues while your equipment hung heavily over your shoulder.

“The women here are so confident, like I don't need a man!” You heard a high voice over the crowds, your eyes briefly fell on the form of a boy with a group of friends making rapid arm movements as they pushed through the crowd. They looked different from the usual tourists you noted, all wearing entirely black outfits and you briefly wondered if they were hunters.

Suddenly the weight on your arm shifted and your attention was brought back to your bag, frustration built inside your chest as you saw both of the febel handles were clinging to its last threads. Even heaving it up to take a closer look at the damaged caused another thread to snap and you cursed under your breath, no longer paying attention as you walked forward.

“...Someone here must find him attractive.”

This voice was deeper than the other but you weren’t really listening in any more as you tried to handle the bag in a way so it wouldn’t snap before you got home.

“Then where are you? Show yourself!”

And with that the blond backed up into you, colliding hard with your shoulder and almost knocking you over. Luckily you were able to save yourself and keep upright, with the help of a nearby stack of boxes you grabbed onto for safety, while the blonde fell dramatically backwards, unable to catch himself and tumbling to the ground.  
While you were mostly unscaved from the impact, other than a painful scrape on your palm, the brief fall managed to finally snap the canvas bag from your shoulder and now all the contents rolled out across the cobblestone, the paint brushes scattering all around you and your sketchbook thudding heavily into the ground.

“Oh for the love of-” You began, staring in dismay at the mess surrounding you and rubbing your hands across your tired face, flinching a little when a dull pain fired through the cut on your palm. Anger quickly took hold and you whipped around to turn on the boy who was still lying on the path in front of you, hands gripping your hips and a scowl tugging at your lips. “Weren’t you even-”

Your angry bark faded out once you made eye contact with the boy who was blinking up at you through pale eyelashes that framed beautiful blue eyes. They reminded you of sapphires you thought as you became tongue tied, frustration leaving you as quick as it came as you stood awkwardly above him.  
He was covered in freckles you noted, wild blond hair barely hiding the constellations sprinkled across his cheeks which had become pink in embarrassment.

“I-I’m so sorry!” He sputtered out, breaking your trance as he hurriedly turned around onto his knees and began picking up the items. “I was just talking to my friends and I didn’t see-”

He tried to frantically explain, his face becoming more red as he glanced back up at you.

“Uh-” You wished you could smack yourself as you stared dumbfounded as the boy chased a pencil rolling away from him. Quickly you fell to your knees beside him and gathered your stuff as well, shoving it hastily back into the bag and feeling your face heat up.

“It’s fine, I- I should have been watching where I was going,” You mumbled, trying to snatch up the items before he could. Your hands briefly touched as you reached for the sketchbook, his flinching back and hesitantly hovering over yours as you scrambled to get it back in the bag.

“Need a hand?” Another voice said and you looked up to see three other men surrounding you. The one who spoke was wearing glasses, sharp green eyes staring back at you through the clear lenses as you tried to fumble for a reply.

“And he wonders why he strikes out with the ladies.” Another said, he was much broader than his friends and had a nasty looking scar across one side of his face. The boy in the middle snickered, his eyes mostly hidden beneath black bangs as he watched the scene in front of him unfold.

“It’s okay really, thanks though...” You said barely fumbling through the words, trying to hide your face from the onlookers and wishing you could disappear into the ground.

“I really am sorry,” The blond replied, guilt etched onto his pretty face as he meekly handed you the gathered supplies.

“It's not entirely your fault but… thank you,” You gave him a small smile, taking the items and putting them back into the bag, “Carrying this back is gonna be fun though,”

You tried to joke, rolling your eyes dramatically with a shy smile. You slowly stood up, awkwardly holding the battered bag in both your arms and trying to heave it upwards despite the strain. It must have been obvious you were struggling though as the bespectacled man briefly made eye contact with the others and the other two seemed to read his thoughts instantly.

“Prompto, why don’t you help this young lady carry her items back?” He suggested, patting the blond on his shoulder as he straightened up.

“Uh-” Prompto started, his eyes flicking from his friends to you.

“Least you can do,” The young guy in the middle said, crossing his arms and smirking at Prompto.

You stood there, blinking and clutching your bag to your middle. Part of you just wanted to run off, mumble thanks and apologies but insist your fine. You would somehow sprint back, heaving your bag up the hill to your apartment and jog up the stairs to your front door before having a panic attack in the privacy of your small living room. You would vow to never do that again, throw the broken equipment in the trash and lie in bed hoping to be swallowed by your sheets.

But it wouldn’t come out, your tongue betraying you and no words left your throat as the young man in front of you squared his shoulders and nodded.

“I mean yes, of course. I wanna help, if… you want me to,” It started off confident but ended in a timid question, his eyes searching yours as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

“Okay,” You couldn’t stop the word leaving your mouth, your panicked brain screaming at itself as you tried to remain at least vaguely composed, “That… that would be really helpful, thank you.”

Prompto flashed you a blinding smile, it embarrassingly made your traitorous heart beat even faster, and offered his arms out. Gently you placed the bag in his hands, sighing in relief when the strain was taken off your arms. For a second you felt bad, unloading your equipment into the man's arms but he didn’t even blink as he took it from you, leaning its contents against his chest like it weighed nothing.

“Lead the way!” He said happily, the smile never leaving his face.

“Meet us back at the Leville,” The broad man said, giving Prompto a shoulder pat that nearly knocked him over again before the group left down one of the side alleys towards the famous hotel.

“Got it, see you guys later!” he called after them before he turned back to you, clearly waiting for you to begin walking.

“Uhm, we go this way. Up this path, sorry about the hill.” You nervously told him, giving him a sideways glance as you head towards the stairs home.

“Ah don’t worry about it, this is nothing,” He replied cheerfully, keeping step with you. “I’ve been up worse.”

“Oh?” You asked, some tension leaving your shoulders as you gave him a curious look. “I hope you don’t mind me asking, are you a hunter?”

“Hmm kinda,” He hummed, eyeing the darkening sky above him. “Noct likes to drag us around every corner of Lucis so you’d think he _likes_ running into Daemons,”

You giggled at his tone and he flashed you another grin.

“Which one was Noct? I never got your friend’s name,” You asked, your nosey side coming through as you walked leisurely through the city.

“Oh right! He was the moody looking one with the black bangs,” He imitated his friends cold look and you giggled again. “The monster with the tattoos is Gladio and Ignis is the one with the glasses.”

“And your Prompto? The clumsy one I assume?” You teased, grinning when he snorted.

“The one and only,” He said with confidence, giving you a wink and you rolled your eyes but couldn’t keep the smile off your face.

It’d only been a few minutes since you’d met this guy, in the most unflattering way at that, and you already felt… comfortable around him.

Since moving here you hadn’t exactly made a lot of friends, you worked selling paintings for one of the store owners to save up money for school and you’d been working towards that goal for months now. Other than your next door neighbour Blaise you hadn’t really tried to get close to anyone, you weren’t even sure your boss could give your full name to the people who bought your work without looking at his notes.

You got lonely sure but you would talk on the phone to your family at least once a week to assure them the city hadn’t changed you and Blaise would knock on your door from time to time with a bottle of wine and a crazy story. Part of you wanted something more, to try harder to get to know people rather than letting them come to you and make a connection but any time that feeling would arise you’d just throw yourself into your work and push it at the back of your mind once more.

You were too busy you’d assure yourself, pretending not to feel jealous when Blaise talked about the new guy she was dating or ignore the cold feeling in your chest when you saw a couple walking hand in hand in front of you.

“You never told me your name by the way?” The question pulled you out of stupor and you turned to see Prompto giving you a hopeful look.

“Oh! Im sorry,” You said hurriedly, rubbing the back of your neck nervously as you told him your name.

“Well it's nice to meet you, although I mean… probably could have started better huh,” He gulped, the blush creeping back up his face.

“Probably,” You agreed with a laugh but decided to throw him a bone, “I certainly won’t forget it though.”

“Or me I hope!” His smile was infectious you thought as you felt your cheeks ache from the unusual strain.

“I _definitely_ won’t forget you.” It was your turn to flush, the words leaving your mouth before you could really think about it.

He looked at you in surprise as if shocked by your words but he quickly recovered, laughing as it was your turn to wallow in embarrassment.

Now you remembered why you didn’t try to initiate conversation, you always managed to put your foot in your mouth. Or laugh when you shouldn’t be laughing. Or tell the wrong joke at the wrong time. Basically you should never leave your tiny apartment ever again.

You’d only just met the guy, this was ridiculous. Your ridiculous, acting like a damsel meeting a hero in the stories your mum used to tell you as a kid. Prompto would be a weird hero though, falling into your life like that wasn’t exactly normal.

“Anyway,” You tried to move the conversation on, still not looking at him in the eye. “You staying in Lestallum long?”

“Ahh thats kinda up in the air right now,” He said hesitantly, shifting the bag in his arms. “We’re definitely gonna be coming and going from here a lot, we have friends staying at the hotel!”

“The Leville right?” You said with a smile, “Nice hotel, even nicer staff so I’m sure your friends will be happy there.”

“That's good to know, one of ‘em is the big guys sister so he’s been on edge the entire journey here.” Something in his tone seemed off, a concerned look briefly crossing his face.

“She’ll be safe,” You assured quickly, looking back at the town behind you. “Very few bad things ever happen here, the most we get is a drunken brawl between two plant workers.”

“Haha really? Okay I definitely need to watch out for that,” He said, the grin back on his face.

“You want to see two well defined women wrestle in crop tops in the street?” You asked, raising an eyebrow and repressing a smirk when he splutters.

“Uh wait no that-” He tried, stumbling over himself much to your amusement, “That's not- uh not what I meant-”

“I can tell you the best bars to go to if you really want to see that,” You interrupted, fighting back laughter as he got even more flustered.

“Nope I’m good!” He squeaked.

“Mhm sure,” You responded with a shrug, “Whatever your into man.”

“Oh Gods,” He muttered, face the colour of beetroot at this point.

You couldn’t hold in your laugh any more and let out a long stream of cackles. You had to stop for a second to catch your breath, leaning one arm against the wall as you tried to calm yourself down. You looked up to see him pouting at you and you collapsed into giggles once more.

“Sorry, couldn’t resist!” You managed to laugh out, pushing yourself away from the wall and back towards him.

“You… are _mean_.” He said, narrowing his eyes and you stuck your tongue out at him.

“And _you_ are easy to tease,” You responded, bumping your hip gently into his.

“Ooh I’ll get you back for that,” He threatens, nudging you playfully with his elbow as you both continue on.

You chat idly some more, both of you telling dumb jokes and talking about the town. It was nice you thought, happiness washing over you as Prompto told you a bit about himself. You learnt he was a photographer and Noct was his best friend, he also told you about the car they rode in and insisted you’d need to see it sometime. The more you looked at him and spoke to him the more he wormed his way into your heart, his bouncy steps and terrible puns brightening your mood with every passing second.

You had to remind yourself multiple times this was the first time you met him and to reign it back, way back.

Soon you reached your flat, you offered to take the bag back and say goodbye here but he insisted on walking up with you when you told him what floor you lived on. You told him he didn’t have to, anxiety rushing through you at the thought of making him walk up four flights of stairs to your door, but he was already up the first couple of steps before you could stop him.

“I can’t hear you sorry!” He said in a sing song voice, making quick work of the stairs while you followed behind him.

True to his word he wasn’t even sweating by the time you both got to your door while you were repressing the urge to wheeze when you’d finally got to your floor. You’d moved in here half a year ago but the stairs nearly killed you every time, Blaise used to make fun of you as you finally crawled your way to the top and collapsed onto the railing.

Eventually you were able to open the creaky door, welcoming him into your small apartment and throwing the keys into a bowl on a table besides the door.

You’d wished you’d cleaned up a little before you left, while it wasn’t anywhere as bad as Blaise’s entire flat you had still left a lot of clutter lying around. There was a half finished painting on the easel by your little balcony, pots of paint scattered around the door with a ink stained glass holding an abundance of paintbrushes sitting precariously off the table in your living room. Shoes were scattered around the table by the door and you kicked them out the way hurriedly, shooting him a bashful look as he made his way through the doorway.

“Cozy place,” Prompto observed as he scanned the space, his eyes flicking from the small kitchen to the area where your couch and little tv were. “Its cute!”

“Hah thanks,” You said sheepishly, kicking the door to your _very_ messy bathroom closed before he could see, “You can put the stuff down on the couch, I’ll sort it out in a bit.”

“Got it!” Was he always this cheerful you asked yourself as he gently placed the broken canvas bag on the sagging furniture.

“I honestly can’t thank you enough for doing this,” You told him, walking over and gently going to place a hand on his arm before rethinking it and letting your hand drop. “I really owe you one.”

“Ah no its nothing, least I could do.” He replied, copying the words of his friend as he awkwardly accepted your thanks.

“Still…” You hesitated, nervously hopping from foot to foot. “If you ever need anything when your here or… want to hang out or something just, uhm, lemme know.”

You were not good at this, it was suppose to come out way more confident and carefree but you stumbled over the words instead. He didn’t seem to notice though as he flashed you a surprised but happy smile and quickly got out his phone.

“That sounds awesome! Can I get your number?” It was his turn to sound nervous, holding the phone out to you.

“Yeah of course,” You took it, tapping into his contacts and writing down your number while he walked towards your unfinished painting.

Prompto admired your work, tracing the line of your sketch marks with his finger and humming in interest. It was supposed to be a painting of the Disc, you took a photo of it at night and wanted to try and capture the waves of energy coming off of it that could only be seen in the night sky. You’d only got a quarter way through it before giving up, the heat driving you too insane to stay in this cramped little hot box of a home.

“Your, like, really good at this,” He said with an air of admiration, “Do you paint for a living?”

“Yeah,” You laughed, walking over to him to look at the painting. “Saving up money for school, moved here when one of the shop keeps offered to buy a bunch of my paintings. Much easier to sell stuff in a big town like this.”

“Oh, I thought you were from here?” He asked surprised with this news.

“My dad was but when he met my mum they moved to a smaller farm town away from here,” You clarified with a shrug, “We came here to see my grandparents so I know it real well though,”

He nodded and you handed him his phone back, Prompto looked down at your contact info and squinted at the name you put in for yourself.

“Girl I crashed into,” He read aloud and you smirked.

“Just so you can tell me a part from all the other girls in your phone,” You said with another shrug, grinning when he snorted in derision.

“Oh yeah, I get asked for my number. All. The. Time.” He joked, striking a pose and flipping his hair out of his face.

There was a moment of silence, both you standing in front of the glass doors to your balcony not really sure what to do next. You couldn’t help but be transfixed by him, it wasn’t even by his looks (not that he was bad to look at) but just his energy, it made you want to spend more time with him and that immediate attraction made you anxious.

“Hey, can I ask for a favour and then I’ll get out of your hair?” He asked, his eyes sparkling slightly as you blinked back at him.

“Uhm sure.” You responded slowly, narrowing your eyes a little.

“It’s nothing too weird!” Prompto defended but back tracked a little. “Or weird at all I mean. Or maybe it is? Uhm anyway I was wondering can I get a photo of you?”

“You… want a photo of me?” You asked skeptically, eyeing the camera around his neck.

“I mean if you don’t mind, I like taking photos of my day and showing my friends. Its like keeping memories with you that you can show to other people.” He rambled a little, clearly less confident with his request now. “Don’t feel like you have to it’s fine-”

“Okay,” You said before he could back out of it, smiling when he perked up again. “Sounds cool, I’d love to be a part of your memories.”

That bit was cheesy you thought with an internal grimace but he seemed pleased with the answer, he picked the camera up and asked you to take a few steps back. You obliged and moved to stand in front of him, the glass of the doors pressing into your skin as you smiled at the lense. He took a few, making a joke and making you guffaw, trying to keep your expression together so you didn’t look like a troll in the picture.

He flicked through the photos, showing you some and deleting ones you out right hated which was kinda cute.

“Thanks!” He said, his classic grin back.  
“Always happy to model for someone,” You joked but the glimmer in his eyes said you may regret those words in the future.

Prompto opened his mouth to respond but a bang on the door made you both jump. Blaise opened your front door singing your name, still in her plant uniform with her red hair tied up on top of her head, but stopped halfway through when she saw Prompto next to you.

“Am I… interrupting something?” She asked, a wide grin slowly growing across her face.

“Uhh,” You said dumbly before composing yourself, “Prompto this is my neighbour Blaise, who has no boundaries apparently. Blaise this is Prompto, a new… friend.”

You said the last bit with a squeak, cursing yourself when Blaise gave you a knowing look.

“Uhuh, nice to meet you Prompto.” She drawled out leaning against the doorframe.

“Uhm yeah you too!” He said, scratching the back of his head which seemed to be a nervous tick of his, “Well I should go meet the others back at the hotel, it was really nice to meet you. Uh both of you.”

He hesitated with the last bit, giving you a small smile that made your stomach flip.

“Yeah it was, I’ll text you?” You responded, giving him a smile back.

“Awesome! See ya later alligator,” He said, walking away shooting you finger guns much to your amusement.

He squeezed his way past Blaise and hurried down the stairs, shooting you one last look before disappearing from view. Your friend watched him go, tilting her head back so she can watch him jog down the stairs before sauntering into your apartment with a smirk.

“You know it's polite to knock instead of barging into someone else's home,” You complained but there was no real heat behind it and she knew that as she laughed.

“In my defense I haven’t seen a single person other than you in this apartment since you’ve moved in,” Blaise collapses onto your couch, it groaned a little under her but your furniture was used to her toned body at this point.

“First of all: Rude,” You say, sitting down next to her and sighing in relief as your aching muscles finally relaxed “Second of all: I have friends!”

“Correction: you have one friend. Me,” She says and you flipped her the bird which she ignored, “So tell me, who's the boy?”

She said it in a sing song voice, her eyebrows wiggling suggestively at you.

“I told you, his names Prompto and… he’s a friend. A new friend. We met today.” It came out stiffly, you fiddled with the loose material on the arm rest and avoided the older woman's gaze.

“Uhuh but how did you meet? Are you going to see him again? And is he just a ‘friend’?” She did finger quotation marks after “friend” and you shifted uncomfortably next to her.

“We met in town, I don’t know if I’ll see him again and he’s just a guy,”

“Aw come on dude,” She complained pouting at you, “I tell you all my gossip, share the info girl!”

You groaned loudly but smiled at the ceiling despite your protests. Blaise was the first person to make you feel welcome in Lestallum, she had helped you carry your stuff upstairs when you first moved in and showed you the night life of the town. She shared your sense of humor but didn’t let you bullshit her, often waiting with a stare until you opened up to her about how you were really doing. She’d made your move here way easier, you couldn’t hang out all the time because of your schedules but it was nice to have someone knock on your door to check up on you especially when you were so far away from your family.

You felt your phone buzz at your side and you hurried picked it up, turning the screen on you saw a text message from an unknown number.

 

> just making sure this is the right girl, the painter? I just have soooo many girls names in here… as you know… we should hang out again soon! with less falling this time
> 
>  

A little giggle left you and Blaise leaned over to try to read the screen but you put it down before she could see. She started to complain but you turned to her with a mischievous grin.

“Tell you what, you bring us a bottle of red and I’ll tell you everything.” You said merrily and snorted when she jumped up and practically jogged to the door.

“Oooh finally! I hope your planning on getting that d-”

“Oh my GOD _shut up_ or I’ll lock the door behind you!” You nearly screamed, hiding your face behind your hands and slumping down the couch while your friend laughter faded down the hall and into her own apartment.

After she’d left you sighed heavily and picked your phone back up, reading the message again and sending off one of your own.

 

> This the camera guy? I think I remember you... blond and covered in freckles? Trips over air? Jokes aside yeah, I’d really like to see you again :)
> 
>  

You threw the phone onto the chair opposite the couch, smiling dumbly at nothing and letting the warm happiness flow through you as you waited patiently for your friend.

 

Prompto was hurrying back towards his friends when he got the text, he fumbled to get his phone out of his pocket but smiled when he saw the message. He practically skipped back to the Leville, waving at Noctis who was leaning against the doorframe of the hotel. The prince smirked at him and pushed himself into a standing position, eyeing Prompto’s expression when the blond came up the step.

“You took your time,” He drawled out and Prompto chuckled, walking backwards into the hotel with a shrug.

“What can I say?” Prompto replied smugly, “I’m irresistible.”

“Sure you are,” Noctis rolled his eyes at his friend but followed the blond inside with a small smile.

“She’s pretty cool too,” Prompto sighed sweetly, ignoring his friends comments.

“You could say she really… knocked you off your feet.”

Both boys stopped and Prompto slowly turned to look at Noct who was smiling at his own joke.

“Oh. _Wow_.” Prompto shook his head with a grim look. “Terrible. That was terrible.”

“Your just angry you didn’t think of it first,” Noct shot back, shoving Prompto and snorting when he nearly topples over.

Prompto watched his friend walk up the stairs, likely to the room where the others were. He was excited to see Iris and catch up but his mind was elsewhere as he jogged up the stairs behind Noctis.

  
“I gotta see her soon,” he said to himself, a small private smile brightening his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes it's 2018 and I'm writing fan fic for Final Fantasy XV, don't you judge me.
> 
> Seriously though if you read this thanks I've been planning to start this for ages, I'll try to upload regularly! Also probably worth mentioning I have dyslexia that hits me hard in the writing department, I do my best to proof read but some things fly under the radar! If you see anything majorly wrong just tell me and I'll fix it but please be patient.


	2. About that favour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the next day and Prompto decides to call in that favour you owe him.

You woke up earlier than you wanted to, groaning into your pillow and dragging your duvet over your head despite the humidity clinging to your skin. Blaise didn’t end up leaving your apartment until 1am, one bottle of wine had turned into two and a half as you talked about the events of yesterday.

“I’m acting like a love sick teenager right?” You had said, rubbing your temples and frowning at your giddiness. “He bumped into me, broke my bag and all I did was stand there and stare. Oh my god I giggled so much Blaise, so much.”

“Nah it’s cute!” She insisted, pouring you another glass and laughing when you clutched it to your chest like a child does with their favourite toy, “I’ll be honest though, didn’t know that was your type.”

“...What exactly did you think my type _was_?” You blinked at her, your frown deepening.

“Honestly? None existent.” She fell into a pile of giggles as you stared with your mouth agape before grabbing a discarded newspaper and beating her thick thigh with it.

“Rude ass-” You started before falling into giggles as well, you had to put your glass down as you and your friend guffawed together on your half broken couch.

Eventually you both settled down, leaning against each other and enjoying the cool night breeze that fluttered through your own balcony. You could hear people outside laughing, the squeals of women and deep laughs of men as well as the unmistakable clinking of glasses.

“He was really cute though,” Your friend said and you sighed, a dreamy smile crossing your face.

“Yeah, he _really_ is. Funny too, did I mention that?”  
  
“Once or twice,” She replied with a smirk but you kept going.

“Sweet as well, he carried my stuff up those gods forsaken stairs. He complimented my art and wanted to know more and... “ You trailed off, frowning again.

“Stop it.” Blaise said, nudging your side.

“Stop what?”

“Over thinking, I can practically hear the gears turning in your head.” She said with a sigh, throwing a strong arm over your shoulders, “It’s normal to have a crush, stop beating yourself up for it. So what you’ve only known him for a few hours? I’ve met girls sure they were in love with men who made eye contact with them at the market.”

“Yeah I know, I just…” You couldn’t finish that, chewing at your lip in thought.

“Go on,” Blaise encouraged.

“Nevermind, doesn't matter.” You responded quickly, taking a long sip of your wine while Blaise stared at you through narrowed eyes.

After awhile she got it was a topic you didn’t want to touch on any more and she changed the subject, telling you about how Holly handled a fight at lunch time and even miming the actions just to make you snort into your glass. An hour of more girl talk later she left, able to hold her drink much better than you could. She didn’t even wobble as she walked out while you stumbled into bed, tugging off your clothes ungracefully and collapsing on top of the blankets.

With another groan you reached around for your phone, realising you had left it in the living room you forced yourself up and squinted at the morning light streaming through your window. Slowly you left the comfort of your bed and shuffled to the chair you had tossed your phone onto and picked it up, sighing in relief when you saw you still had battery but pouting a little at the blank screen.

“Oh stop it,” You criticised yourself, making your way to the bathroom. “It’s _8am_ for Six sake, also he’s probably busy today just be cool.”

One cold shower later you felt a little more alive, cleaning your face a little too vigorously and pulling at the bags underneath your eyes to get the rest of the sleepiness to leave. In the middle of your pinching you heard your phone buzz on the counter, you squashed the fleeting hope in your heart and told yourself it was just Blaise checking in on or your dad’s usual update text. Half way through brushing your teeth it buzzed twice and you glanced at the screen and felt your heart beat a little faster when a certain name popped up. You quickly wiped your mouth and picked up the phone, tapping through to your messages to read the texts.

 

 

> P: Hey! good morning! you wanna meet up today?  
>  P: I wanna redeem that favour you owe me ;)  
>  P: If your free anyway, its totally cool if your not! no worries!
> 
>  

You smiled at the phone, quickly tapping out a response before he could cancel as quickly as he suggested it. It made you feel a little better that you weren’t the only one who bumbled through social interactions.

 

 

> Y: Good morning! Lucky you I’ve just rolled myself out of bed, what dya want?
> 
>  

It only took him a minute to reply, you finished in the bathroom and walked out to another buzz from your phone.

 

 

> P: A tour if your up for it, i gotta know the best places for snapshots!  
>  P: also food, we could go get some breakfast if you want
> 
>  

You sent him an affirmative text and told him to meet you at your flat, once that was sent off you proceeded to panic, running into your bedroom and throwing open your wardrobe to try and find something cute to wear. Going through all your options you eventually settled on a pair of yellow shorts and a short sleeved button up shirt with little bird prints over it. You hurriedly got ready, jumping in one place as you pulled on your trusty walking boots and trying to sort out the nest that is your hair in your bedroom mirror. After messing around for a bit you decided to leave it, not even attempting make up in this heat.

Occupying yourself by trying to find your discarded keys and purse, you grabbed everything you needed and waited anxiously on your couch, tapping your foot and trying to not run through all the ways this could go wrong until you heard a knock on your door. With a steadying breath you briskly walked over and opened the door, trying to stay nonchalant as Prompto came into view.

He looked different today; no longer dressed in his all black outfit, you honestly didn’t know how he and his friends put up with all the leather and denim in this heat, but in baggy grey pants and a red tank top tucked into the waist. He still sported one of his gloves, an odd choice for summer you noted, and a had a bandana tied around one of his biceps. Prompto grinned at you once the door was fully open, his hands stuck in his pockets as he rocked on his heels.

“Hey!” He exclaimed cheerfully, his cheeks stained pink slightly. “Wow, you look nice,”

“Hah thank you,” You chuckle shyly, tugging your bag up your shoulder. “You clean up pretty good yourself.”

“I try,” Prompto said with a shrug, watching you as you closed your door behind you and locked it, “Thanks for agreeing to this, Ignis and Gladio had stuff to do and Noctis is dead to the world for another two hours,”

“Of course, happy to be your third choice,” You said with a smirk and his face flushed even more but you laughed before he could back track. “I’m just messing with you don’t worry, let's get going!”

“Right yeah!” He replied with a chuckle, letting you go first down the stairs and following you down.

After a minute both of you were outside, the morning sun warming the air and the brick of your apartment building. It wasn’t so bad in the morning, very few people were awake and the sun hadn’t begun to bake everything within sight yet. You let out a soft whistling noise and rubbed the skin on your arms nervously, you turned to Prompto who jumped a little and avoided your gaze, deciding the wall opposite you was very interesting. Had he been… watching you? The thought made your stomach flip and you decided to break the growing silence.

“So you wanna see the sights first? Or head further in to the market?” You asked, slowly making your way down the hill towards town.

“Let's do the sights!” He responded, catching up with you quickly and flashing you a winning smile, “I hope your ready for some touristy activities!”

“Absolutely,” You laughed, his smile lighting up your own face, “It’s fun showing someone your home, I meant to ask actually… where are you and your friends from?”

He paused, his smile dropping and a small frown replaced it. Your heart dropped, fiddling with your bag strap nervously and criticising yourself for the question. Prompto seemed to be mulling the question over, deciding how to answer it before turning his head towards you with a small sad look.

“We’re from the Crown City,” He said eventually and realisation dawned on you.

You’d heard the news what had happened there, the radio had been on while you were sketching in your living room a few days ago and you’d learnt how the empire had used the peace talk to invade Insomnia and killed the king. Some of the citizens had been able to escape but most of the population was trapped inside the walls that once protected them, being told over loudspeakers and radios that their king and prince had died within the battle as well as the oracle.

He and his friends must have been some of the refuges you gathered, the people they knew at the hotel must be from Insomnia as well and they came here to check on them. As this information clicked into place in your head Prompto spoke up again.  
“Uhm sorry I didn’t tell you sooner,” He added quickly, rubbing the back of his head and assuming your silence meant something different.

“What? No!” You assured him, placing a hand on his shoulder out of instinct, “I’m not annoyed or anything, you only met me yesterday after all! I’m… what happened there is terrible. I’m really sorry, I can’t imagine what it’s like to be cast out of your home like that.”

Prompto didn’t seem to expect that kind of reply, blinking at you in surprise with a half open mouth.

“Besides! It’s not like your part of the Crownguard or anything,” You joked, punching his shoulder lightly, trying to change the mood and continuing your walk.

“Uhh yeah! Right!” His voice was pitched a lot high than usual but you brushed it off as he jogged to catch up, the smile back on his face.

Both of you talked about little things after that, keeping the tone light and humorous as you made your way to the entrance to Lestallum where food vendors gathered in a semi circle trying to convince curious tourists to try their food. You couldn’t help but smile when you see the pile of boxes from yesterday, a small chuckle leaving you and Prompto gave you a curious look before following your gaze.

“I’m never gonna live this down am I?” He mutters, the tips of his ears going red as you giggled beside him.

“Nope, If I have to live with the embarrassment so do you.” You lean into him, smirking up at him. “Your friends are going to forever remember me as “the weird girl who ran into Prompto” after all.”

That gets a laugh out of him, much to the glee of your ego, and he grins down at you.

“Pain shared together brings ya’ closer!” He tells you, throwing an arm around your shoulders so casually you were surprised.

He seemed to always border on the line of confident and unsure, not that you were complaining you thought as the warmth of his arm seeped onto your shoulders. Despite the casual outfit you could still smell traces of leather on him as well a scent you couldn’t quite place, it made your heart skip a little. You wrapped an arm around his waist in return as the two of you made your way past the vendors, feeling content.

Blaise was right, you’d been beating yourself up too much and focusing on the what ifs instead of just living in the moment. You told him a little history about the place, pointing out the oldest shops and a few of the vendors waved back at you, Prompto untangled himself from you to take photos but never strayed from your side.

Your lesson was interrupted however when one of the vendors called you both over, you knew the man well at this point so guided the unsure Prompto over to the man.

“How you doing today hun?” He asked cheerily, shooting you a gap toothed smiled that you returned.

“Good thanks sir!” You replied happily, turning to the blond at your side, “These are some of the best peanut skewers around, would definitely recommend trying them while your here.”

“Ah you're too kind to me,” The vendor replied, clearly happy with the commendation, “Here boy, have one, on the house!”

“Wait really?” Prompto flicked his eyes between the two of you before eyeing the food, a yearning look very obviously crossing his face.

“Go on! Take it while it's hot!”

He didn’t need to be told again, taking it from the older man and thanking him at least three times. Prompto bit into it and pulled a goofy face, the corners of his mouth stretching as far as possible and a far away look in his eyes making you snicker under your breath. The man gave you one as well and refused to take your gil when you offered, telling you both to come back later and waving you off.

“How I’ve missed street food,” Prompto sighs, finishing off the skewer quickly. “Don’t tell Ignis I said that though, he’ll get annoyed.”

“I could happily live off it,” You agreed, chewing on yours and savouring the taste, “Living here it’s hard not to, but Ignis cooks? He didn’t look like the type to.”

“Oh yeah he loves it!” He tells you before pausing. “Or I think so, problem is none of us know how to cook really so it’s left to him.”

“Maybe you should learn then dude,” You tell him with a nudge.

“Yeah probably but his food is so good! And I burn everything!” The pout was back and you rolled your eyes.

“Ask him to teach you then, or I’d happily show you how to cook if you promise not to burn down my flat.” You offered light heartedly despite the internal screaming at the idea of being trapped in the tiny space of your kitchen with this very cute boy.  
“You’d… you’d want to?” He was hesitant, glancing at you out the side of his eye.

“Yeah, it's honestly not that hard once you get the hang of it,” You shrugged, ignoring the rapid beat of your pulse, “Besides its more fun to cook for two- or a group I mean. Because you’d be cooking for your friends, which is a group.”

And there went your confident attitude, you groaned internally and avoided the blond’s eyes.

“Anyway,” You said before he could reply to your bumbling, “Let's go see the Disc! It’s the most popular photo spot after all!”

“Then let's go!” He said enthusiastically, walking ahead of you which you thanked the spirits for as it gave you a chance to rub your face and shake off the weird comment.

You crossed the road together, having to pull Prompto back at one point as a speeding car went by, the driver laying on the horn when he stepped into the middle of the road. How this boy got around without a scratch on him amazed you.

Once across you showed him the large area built into the cliff the town was built on top of, pointing out the bench tables to the side and a few of the stalls that gathered here. He pulled his camera back up snapping photos of the view of Cleigne while you stood back, smiling at the back of his head as he tried to get the best shots. You had to ask to see more of his photos, he seemed really passionate about his hobby.

You wandered over to the far right of the clearing, leaning against the railing and admiring the view for yourself. Your dad used to haul you on his shoulders whenever you came to visit, taking you around the late night crowds and showing you all the sights you just showed Prompto. A aching feeling clutched your chest as you thought back, you missed your parents greatly despite the weekly calls home.  
You tried to visit when you could but it wasn’t always safe, it’d be almost dusk by the time you got there and then you’d have to leave early the next day. At this point you even missed your brother Nero, he was still a teenager at this point and as moody as ever but you missed your late night conversations lying together on the back porch and watching the stars.

“Deep in thought?” The question brought you back, you whipped around to see Prompto approaching you.

He leaned against the railing beside you, his bicep pressed against yours as you both looked out at the Disc.

“Just thinking of home,” You admitted, feeling stupid for it when you realised he was in a worse situation than you.

“Where is it you said you lived again?” He asked, squinting out at the land below as if trying to find it.

“It’s just a farm, only three families live there but we have a lot of lights obviously,” You told him, pointing out east to where the rough location probably was, “Over there somewhere, it used to be bigger but… well,”

You didn’t need to finish that sentence, the reason clear to all the folks of Eos. Daemons were in full force, with nights apparently getting longer there were more about than ever. A lot of your mothers and fathers friends were hunters, your parents often calling on them to chase a pack of Sabertusks that somehow go through the defenses.

“It’ll get better,” The reply surprised you, glancing over you saw a determined look in Prompto’s eyes, his grip on the railing tight and leaving his knuckles white.

“Hopefully,” You mumbled, your eyes trailing back to the Disc.

“Can I get a selfie with you?”

The change in topic was sudden and your attention snapped back to Prompto, he was smiling again although albeit nervously. He even had the camera back in his hands you noted, fiddling with the buttons and waiting for you to reply.

“To make your girlfriend jealous?” You asked with a grin and he snorted, shaking his head.

“More like my friends,” You blushed a little at that reply, the idea of being shown off was a new one.

“Then I’d be happy to.”

“Awesome!” You were glad his good mood was back, he didn’t suit that frown.

He turned around and brought his camera forward, you leaned into him again and he happily wrapped the arm back around your shoulder. His forearm rested against your neck and you wrapped an arm around his waist, squeezing his side as he took a few photos. At first you both smiled but two photos later you were pulling faces, him ballooning his cheeks out like a pufferfish and you sticking your tongue out with your eyes crossed. You didn’t make him delete that one, instead snickering at your expressions when he showed you in the viewfinder.

“We. Are. Attractive,” You snorted, not removing yourself from his side just yet.

“One of us is that's for sure,” He responded, his arm still around your shoulder.

A wave of panic ran through you quickly, your anxiety snapping back to you as fast as it left. _What are you doing?_ It shouted, making you suddenly pull away from the side hug you found yourself in, feeling trapped under his arm when just a second before you were ecstatic to be so close to him. He looked at you in surprise, his smiling expression turning into one of worry and dejection.

You really are an idiot you told yourself, forcing a fake smile on your face.

“Wanna go get something to eat? I’m starving!” You lied, the smile wavering a little.

“Yeah... sounds good.” He replied, hanging the camera back around his neck and giving you a small smile.

Your a _massive_ idiot.

The walk back to the road was awkward, or at least you felt it was. You kept your pace faster than his and he let you lead, this time halting you before you walked into the busy road.

“You okay?” He asked timidly, his blue eyes searching yours.

“Hm? Me? I’m good,” You replied, itching to turn his gaze away from you.

“Prompto?” A new voice drew both your attention away, a girl with short black hair crossing the road with Noctis in tow.

She was cute you noted as she practically skipped over to the two of you, she must have been around fifteen and had pretty brown eyes that sparkled at you as she drew nearer. Like Noctis she was also wearing black, you wondered if all people from the Crown City just owned black clothes, although the clothes had a lot of red accents on them. Noctis gave you a small smile, his blue eyes flicking from the two of you but his expression was unreadable.

“I didn’t realise you weren’t with Gladdy and Iggy!” She exclaimed, her eyes shifting from Prompto to you curiously.

“Hey Iris,” Prompto greeted, shooting an amused look at Noctis. “I can’t believe you're actually awake Noct.”

“Ass,” Noctis muttered, crossing his arms but he didn’t really look bothered by the blond’s words. “Your fast, and loud, exit out the room woke me up. Sounded like a Dualhorn charging past the beds.”

Prompto flushed and you snorted loudly, covering your mouth to hide the dumb smile from hearing that news. He must have been excited to see you? That brought back the giddiness from before.

 _Too bad you ruined it_ a voice at the back of your mind said snidely but you ignored it this time.

“I was not that loud!” He defended, turning to look at you with a panicked look. “He’s exaggerating!”

“Uhuh,” You replied, grinning madly when he flushed further.

“Your so mean Noct!” The girl said, nudging Noctis hard who clicked his tongue at her. “I’m Iris by the way, Gladio’s sister. May I ask your name?”

With a smile you told her, accepting a handshake when she reached her own out. What a polite teenager, your brother should really take notes. That was a strong grip as well you thought, fighting a visible wince as she squeezed your hand encourgingly.

“Nice to meet you! I’m just showing Noct around the town, we only got here a few days ago but I already love it here.”

“That's great, I’m glad!” You say, her bubbly personality easily erasing your bad mood, “I’m happy the city is treating you well, if you ever need anything I’m happy to help.”

“Oh you live here too? Cool!” Wow she was enthusiastic, you kinda loved it though. “We should totally go get lunch sometime.”

“I’d really like that,” You replied with a smile.

“Didn’t you want to show me something Iris?” Noct said before the girl could reply, eyeing you and Prompto.

“Right, almost forgot.” Iris giggled, looping her arm through one of Noct’s and pulling him forward. “So nice to meet you! See ya later Prom!”

And with that they were off, Noct shooting you a glance over his shoulder and rolling his eyes at the younger girl but he didn’t seem to mind as she dragged him away.

“She is a literal ball of sunshine.” You say and Prompto chuckled beside you.

“Yeah that's our Iris,” He shakes his head, “I still can’t believe Noct is so oblivious,”

“To her crush? Neither can I.” You respond immediately and he guffaws.

The mood is better now, both of you actually happy again but you stood there for a second too long saying nothing and Prompto kicked the dirt at his feet, seemingly waiting to say something. Did he want to ask what was up with before again? Probably. You rubbed your temples and sighed, deciding to just get it over with.

“I’m sorry, about before,” You say before he can speak, “I’m not really used to people or… anything. I'm kind of awkward, which probably isn’t a surprise. But I’d really like to go get breakfast if your up for it? My treat?”

You will yourself to make eye contact, surprised to see him smiling at you. He looped an arm through yours, copying Iris’s actions, and pulled you with him across the road.

“Your gonna regret offering that, I can eat _a lot_.” He tells you and you feign a dramatic sigh.

“Goodbye sweet savings,” You sniff, wiping away non existent tears.

With everything back to normal you decide to take Prompto to the market before food, laughing at his curiosity as he admires the different stalls. It’s different from the food vendors, here you can buy all different kinds of things from uncommon spices to figurines, one peddler tries to sell you a knife and you have to wave him off as he started to list all the things you could use it for.

After awhile of wandering you managed to pull him away and towards Surgate's Beanmine which was a more affordable place to eat, at least on your budget, and grab a table. It was nearer to lunch time than breakfast now but food was food, you talk briefly to the waiter while Prompto scans the menu in interest. You both order and barely have to wait a minute until the foods delivered, your stomach rumbles as he sets down two chicken and rice dishes and one plate of skewers to share.

“Am I in heaven? I feel like I’m in heaven.” Prompto says before devouring half his food, it’s gone so quickly your mindly concerned he’ll choke on it.

“Oh my god, you weren’t kidding!” You say while laughing, letting him have one of your skewers as he was eyeing it.

“What can I say, I’m just impressive like that.” He boasts, holding back a burp once he was done.

“Impressive is a weird word to use but sure,” You tease, eating your own food with less grace than you probably should but he didn’t seem to care.

You went back to talking about your lives, you told him a little more about your family and how you came into painting. He tells you more about his photography and teaches you how to use the camera, letting you take a selfie of the two of you and your empty plates. You ask if you can see his photos and for a second he hesitates but nods, letting you flick through the photos he’s taken.

Most of them were of his friends, either in various poses struck for the camera or taken when they weren’t aware. There were a few of Noct sitting on the back of an impressive black car, the Regalia he told you, and some of Ignis smiling behind the wheel.

“Does no one else drive?” You ask, noticing there were only photos of him driving.

“Noct does occasionally! I can drive too but, uh, I’m not allowed to be behind the ol’ girl any more.” He tells you sheepishly and you quirked an eyebrow at him.

“...Did you almost crash the expensive Crown City made car?” You questioned, the flush on his neck answering this question for him.

“No comment.” He replied, avoiding your eyes and burst you into giggles.

Going through the rest of the photos you were amazed to see some action ones, there was even one with Gladio piercing a daemons back with a massive great sword. And then of course there was a selfie of Prompto in front of a Ronin, pulling a goofy smile despite being so close to getting stabbed by the thing. You gave him a _look_ and he grinned at you, clearly happy with the shot. After awhile you got to the photo he took of you yesterday, smiling for the camera in the back of your living room.

“I rarely like photos of me but this one is really nice,” You tell him, your stomach flipping when he gives you a proud smile.

“Thanks! Maybe I should take more of you then,” He adds with a wink.

“Maybe you should,” It was probably the flirtiest thing you’ve ever said, it left your mouth feeling like cotton but he seemed pleased with the response.

“Noted,” He ended, a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

There were only a few more photos, the ones he took today of the sights and then surprisingly one of you that you hadn’t noticed. It was you leaning against the railing, lost in thought before he came over to you and broke you out of it. He seemed a little tense next to you, you assumed embarrassed because this was the first one he hadn’t asked your permission for.

“I love candid photos,” You tell him casually, making sure he knows you don’t mind.

“Same, it’s nice to have posed photos obviously but sometimes the best photos are the ones that aren’t planned.” He says, staring at the viewfinder.

This boy would never stop surprising you, he had so many layers you couldn’t see unless you sat down with him. He was funny and full of energy on the surface but also kind and intuitive, he cared deeply for his friends and thoughtful underneath everything. Now you really wanted to get to know him more, you wondered what else you’d learn.

The last photos were just the selfies of you, the ones by the Discs and then the ones at your table. You handed the camera back to him, your hands brushing his as he took it back and hung it around his neck.

You chat a little more until his phone buzzes, when he sees who's calling he makes an apologetic face then answers it. You could hear the timber voice of Ignis over the phone, not enough to make out the words but Prompto’s replies filled in the details. They needed him back at the hotel.

“Sorry, I’ve gotta go.” He tells you with a mopey look but you wave it off.

“It’s fine! Go meet your friends, we can talk later?” You suggest, hope fluttering in your chest.

“Absolutely!” Prompto grins, hesitating to get up. “I had a really great time today, thanks for showing me around…”

He stands and nearly trips over the chair, sighing while you hold back a snicker. He gets ready and you stand to say goodbye, expecting a side hug or something but what he does next floors you. Prompto pulls you into a full tight hug, his arms wrapping around your neck and pulling you into his chest.

“Don’t worry about the stuff earlier either, I’m kinda awkward too.” He mumbles against your ear and you can feel the tips heating up.

It was short lived, you didn’t even get a chance to respond before he pulled back and bounded forwards. He turned briefly to wave at you, promising to text you later and then he’s off towards the hotel. You were left standing there, your mouth half open as you watched him go and a blush creeping down your chest. You made yourself sit back down, drinking the last of your water quickly and rubbing the part of your neck he had wrapped his arms around.

“Oh boy.” You told yourself, the fluttering in your chest never leaving you. “I’m screwed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's the next chapter! Hope you liked it, as usual sorry for any grammar/spelling mistakes! Hopefully there aren't too many haha


	3. Feathered Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto has a surprise for you.

It was late evening in your apartment, you were up painting and listening to music on the radio. You had a cup of green tea in front of you, night time was the only time cool enough to drink tea hot in your opinion so you took advantage of the opportunity. Blaise had left with her new boyfriend a few hours ago, trying to invite you to come with them and meet up with her work friends but you declined. As dumb as it was you already had plans, not that you told her that as she shrugged and left you to it.

It’d been over a week since you last saw Prompto, the last time had been at the restaurant when he had hugged you. You spent the rest of that day in a bit of a haze, trying to finish the Disc painting when you got back to your place but your mind was elsewhere. He’d texted you a few hours later, telling you how much fun he had today with a bunch of emojis. Everything about this boy was cute you decided.

There was a lot of back and forth after that, just making light conversation and jokes that could be read over text. You could only use so much sarcasm without looking like a dick after all, especially since he couldn’t see your barely contained smile. He told you he was leaving Lestallum for some time but he’d hopefully be back soon, it left you a little deflated but it was nice he kept you updated.

Prompto had started to send you pictures on his phone as well, complaining about the quality compared to his camera of course, and you lived for them. Apparently they were exploring Cleigne and completing some hunts, he showed you photos of the landscapes and of Noctis’s back while he was fishing. It made you wish you could be there, you and your brother used to always talk about becoming hunters when you were kids so you could get to see the world but your parents had always told you both off for having such ideas.

“It’s too dangerous, daemons aren’t something to trifle with.” Your mother would lecture, trying to talk some sense into you.

Still you had that wander bug, it irritated you that travel wasn’t something you could do unless you were a hunter or rich. You just hoped one day you could save enough money and move to Altissia, at least there it was safer to walk around without worrying about being jumped on by a group of imps.

It was cool to live vicariously through Prompto though, after expressing your interest he started to send you way more pictures. Sometimes it’d just be of where they were but he’d throw in the occasional snap of his friends and himself, you probably had a dozen selfies of him in various parts of Lucis at this point. Not that you were complaining.

Your interest and jealousy peaked at an all time high when he sent you a photo of Wiz’s chocobo post. Immediately you had demanded pictures of the birds, exclaiming about how much you loved the feathered beasts with a lot of heart eye emojis added to it. He stepped it up from a photo though, he sent you a video of one of the birds and you squealed as it tilted it’s head to stare into the phone camera. You could hear him laughing in the background of the video as Noctis tried to feed the bird but flinched back when it practically attacked his hand for touching it’s food. You decided to send a photo of yourself back, smiling and giggly, and thanking him, he had sent you a wink kiss emoji back and you felt even giddier than before.

It was so easy talking to him, it felt like you’d known each other a lot longer than ten days. Sometimes you wanted to call him, especially after briefly hearing him on the video, but you’d stop yourself every time the urge came up. It felt like too… much? Maybe it was just your anxiety holding you back but you decided to keep to texts for now until you got to see him face to face again at least.

But that brings you back to your drawing, after he kept you updated on the plight of the chocobos and how his friends were helping Wiz you decided to draw him a little something. It was only a dumb cartoon but you knew he would like it, you had drawn him on a bright yellow chocobo and were in the process of painting on the colours. After finishing the last feather you admired your handy work, smiling to yourself as you looked for any errors. Happy with your work you put it on your balcony to dry, finally getting around to drinking your tea and sighing happily as you bounced your foot to the beat of the music on the radio.

Life felt pretty damn good right about then, your paintings were selling really well at the shop now the summer tourists were here and you had a handful of commissions meaning you were able to put a good amount of gil back into your savings. You would send some home of course, and set an amount aside for bills and rent, but you had more gil saved up than ever and you finally felt like you were creeping closer towards your dream path of attending school in Altissia.

You kept glancing at your phone but it stayed silent, Prompto had been really quiet all day which was unusual. You assumed he was busy, he’d sent you pictures of his guns once when you asked what he used to defend himself so you knew he could handle trouble but it didn’t stop you worrying a little.

After another hour of silence you decided to head to bed, packing up your equipment and cleaning your brushes in the sink. It was still warm enough outside that your painting had already dried so you brought it in and carefully placed it on the table. Stretching leisurely you started move towards your bedroom before your phone started ringing. You stared at it for a second, confused you checked the clock on your wall and confirmed it was 11pm, your parents definitely wouldn’t be checking in on you at this hour. With a shrug you picked it up, assuming it was Blaise drunk dialing you or something.

You were surprised to see not her name though but Prompto’s, now even more concerned you answered it without any more hesitation.

“Prompto? Whats up?” You asked, rubbing the sleep from your eyes.

“Hey!” It was good to hear the chipper tone in his voice and your shoulders relaxed, “I’m gonna need you to come to the parking lot.”

“What?” You asked, confused.

“The one across from the opening of Lestallum dude! I’ve got a surprise!”

“You’re here? Like right now?” This had to be some sort of dream you told yourself.

“Uh, _yeah_!” He answered like it was a stupid question, “I managed to convince the guys to stay somewhere with comfy beds, it wasn’t hard after fighting off that behemoth-”

“YOU DID _WHAT_?” Now you were fully awake, he mentioned Wiz couldn’t loan out chocobos until some sort of threat was dealt with but he did not tell you the threat was a behemoth.

“Oh, did I… not mention that?” He asked with a nervous chuckle.

“Yeah you might have left that part out!” You shouted, now pacing back and forth across your flat, “Are you okay? Your not hurt are you?”

“Uhm I’m okay!” He tried to assured you, seemingly a bit taken aback by the concern which was beyond bizarre to you.

“I need a little more than “I’m okay” dude.” You told him, rubbing your temples in frustration. “How are the rest of the guys as well?”

“Really I’m fine, like I’m the lucky one here I get to fire at daemons from a semi safe distance,” His voice was gentler now, trying harder to ease your worrying, “Everyone else is good too, we made sure to take a lot of healing potions with us. Gladio also got a sweet new shield which came in handy, honestly we’re good! Just tired is all,”

You felt assured now, sighing a breath of relief and letting this little detail slide for now. It’s not like you could control what they did after all, they knew way more about what they were cable of fighting off than you did. The word “Behemoth” just set off your anxiety like nothing else.

“Okay, good.” You said, satisfied with his reply.

“You worrying about me over there?” You could hear the grin in his tone and you snorted in response.

“How else would I get to see cute photos of chocobos?” You laughed, flopping back down onto your couch.

“Rude,” He responded, something he had picked up on saying after you repeating it so often which honestly? Adorable, “I’m serious though, I do have something cool to show you!”

“You can’t bring it here?” You asked, narrowing your eyes at ceiling.

“I really can’t.” He responds with a small laugh, now that really peaked your interest.

“Okay fine, you’ll have to give me a few minutes to get changed though,” You told him, getting up and walking to your bedroom.

“Gotcha, I’ll be waiting in front of the car park. See you soon!” With that he hung up, you threw the phone onto your bed and rummage for something to wear.

You settled on sweat pants and a vest, minimal effort was being put in for this boy after that kind of call. Pausing after you put on your shoes you walked to the living room and picked up the painting, after a few seconds of deliberation you grabbed your art satchel and carefully put the drawing inside. Grabbing your discarded phone and keys you headed out, thankful you didn’t run into Blaise on your way down so you didn’t have to explain why you were leaving so late.

Hurrying down the streets you tried to keep your head down, ignoring the glances you got from drunk people leaning against buildings waiting for their worlds to stop spinning. You like to occasionally go out for a drink but only if Blaise invited you, no one bothered you too much with a 5’’11 heavily built redhead at your side and you prefer it that way.

Eventually you got to the square, it was kinda weird to see it mostly quiet. Some vendors were still out selling food to the drunk folks walking to the next bar but many of them had packed up and headed home.

Walking towards the road you saw Prompto on the other side, staring at his phone and tapping his foot absentmindedly. Happiness bubbled in your chest the moment you saw him, a wide smile appearing on your face and you quickened your pace towards him. As you crossed the road he looked up to see you, a grin of his own greeting you as you approached. Without really thinking you threw your arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug and smiling into his shoulder. He stiffened in surprise but you couldn’t find the will to care right now, sleepiness bringing down your barriers for tonight.

“Well hello to you too,” Prompto chuckled but wrapped both arms around your waist, his thumb stroking your back till you pulled away.

He frowned when you whacked his arm suddenly though, rubbing the spot as you crossed your arms and gave him a glare.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about the behemoth!” You scolded.

“I didn’t want you to worry!” He tried, sounding a little whiny but you waved off the excuse.

“Save it buddy,” You said, your expression softening a little. “This surprise better be good I swear to the Six.”

“Oh I promise you’ll love it!” He says giddily before he donned a mischievous look, grinning widely at you, “But you’ve gotta let me blindfold you, I want it to be a proper surprise!”

Your dubious look must have said it all because he quickly stepped towards you, a reassuring smile on his face.

“Trust me,” He said, a question in his eyes and you sighed. This boy had a ridiculous amount of power over you.

“Fine, but you better not let me fall over.” You told him and he nodded excitedly.

He pulled a bandana out of nowhere and asked you to turn around which you did with only a little hesitating, he carefully wrapped the cloth around your eyes and your world went black. It smelled like Prompto you thought, the tell tale smell of leather and nature invading your senses. He gently took your hand with his own, the leather gloved hand closing around yours as he gently lead you away and towards something unknown.

True to his word he was careful with you, making sure you knew where steps were and stopping you before you could bump into anything. This was unlike anything you’d ever experienced, he was being really sweet and you knew you were probably blushing but it didn’t matter right now.

Finally you made it down the stairs and into the middle of the parking lot, you could smell something… earthy in front of you. A kind of smell you couldn’t really place, it wasn’t exactly unpleasant but you wrinkles your nose a little at it. It felt like something living was standing there but it didn’t make a noise which made the hairs on your arm stand up.

“Okay! Are you ready?” Prompto said, excitement clear in his tone.

“As I’ll ever be.” You mumbled, nervous energy running through your veins.

“Voila!” He said, untying the bandana easily.

You blinked, waiting for your eyes to get used to the street lights but gasped as soon as you saw it. Well, more like when you saw _them_.

Standing in front of you was a chocobo, it’s bright yellow plumage ruffling in the breeze as it cocked it’s head at you. The tips of its head feathers were orange and it had big black eyes, its rounded beak opening a little as a unrestrained squeal left your mouth.  
“Oh my god.” You breathed, vibrating on the spot as you carefully approached the bird.

Warily you put your hands out, letting the bird look at them it before it let out a small chirping noise and stepped forward into your arms. You let out a breathless laugh, leaning your head against the soft feathers of the birds neck, smiling as it leaned over your back and rested some of its weight onto your chest. You could die right now and go out happier than you ever remember being.

Pulling back from it you stroked it’s neck feathers, rubbing up towards it’s head and cupping where it’s cheeks seemed to be. The bird made a happy kind of vibrating noise in the back of it’s throat as you scratched underneath the feather, it leaned it’s head into your hands and your heart swelled with love for this creature.

“A pretty good surprise huh?” Prompto interrupted, clearly very proud of himself.

You turned to him with the biggest smile ever, laughing when he took the opportunity to take a photo and the chocobo leaned over to look at him as well.

“This is the best thing anyone has ever done for me,” You say breathlessly, turning back to the bird and cooing at it. “You are so pretty aren’t you? Yes you are.”

“Alright I’m getting jealous over here.” Prompto jokes, snapping another picture.

“Your very pretty too Prom,” You tell him, snorting when you see him almost drop the camera in surprise at the comment. “How did you even get her here? Or is it him? I suppose the gender doesn’t really matter does it.”

“Her,” He told you with a smile, approaching you both and smiling up at the bird. “And a magician never reveals his secrets!”

“The guys helped you didn’t they?” You reply, his pout answering the follow up question.

“Hey I can do things on my own!” He defended but conceded, “But yeah they did help me this time, we decided to rent four of them for a few days!”

“I’m so jealous of you right now.” You tell him, admiring the adorable creature in front of you.

“Well, if you want, she has a saddle already on her.” He tells you, laughing when you whip back to stare at him.

“Seriously? I can ride her?”

“Yep, come on I’ll give you a hand.”

Prompto guided you to the birds side where you see the leather saddle, it was a little intimidating seeing as you’ve never done anything like this before but your excitement wins out over your anxiety for once. True to his word he helps you up, his hands on your waist as you rather clumsily get yourself onto the saddle and for a second his hands linger on your leg before he steps back out of the birds way.

It chirps a little, stomping one of its feet and you have to grab onto the reins for dear life.

“Keep your legs bent and hugged to her side,” He instructs you and you comply, “Great! If you click your tongue she’ll start to move.”

You must have given him a terrified look because he laughed and clarified.

“At a walking pace, don’t worry.”

Taking a deep breath to calm your nerves you click your tongue and gasp as the chocobo walks forward, as Prompto told you it was a slow pace but you had to get used to the way the bird moved side to side with each movement of its legs. Hesitantly you turned the reins and the bird complied instantly, turning right and walking towards where Prompto was snapping more photos.

“Your doing great!” He tells you with a small smile almost hidden by the camera.

“This is amazing!” You breathed, quickly getting the hang of it.

“Well if you want you can say _“hey”_ and she-”

You didn’t hear the rest of that as the bird made a loud noise and ran forward into a trot, you shrieked at the change of pace as the chocobo shot forward. She was surprisingly fast and made quick work to get across the lot, you clutched the back of her neck as adrenaline ran through you, causing your shriek to turn into a laugh as the bird shot down the parking lot. The bird stopped itself when it reached the wall, turning its head to look at you in confusion as you collapsed into a pile of giggles into its neck and turned back to see Prompto staring after you in horror. He seemed to relax though when he saw you were fine.

Turning the bird back around you made the hey noise and the chocobo didn’t hesitate to run forward again. This time you were prepared though, squaring your shoulders and leaning forward as the bird ran back towards Prompto. Another stream of laughs left you as you approached him, he let out a woah noise and the bird slowed to a complete stop. Quickly he came to you, helping you off the chocobo and saying an endless stream of apologises.

“I’m _so_ sorry, are you okay? Gods I really am sorry I didn’t know _me_ saying it would get her to do that. I mean I should have because she’s the bird I ride-” He stopped when you grabbed his face, with you finally being settled back on solid ground you only felt joy in the moment.

“I’m more than okay!” You laugh, your heart thumping in your chest. “That was amazing, terrifying but amazing! And you did this for me, planned it and everything, your the absolutely best person ever.”

You pulled his face down and kissed his temple, pulling back with a goofy smile and wrapping your arms around his neck to give him a tight hug. He seemed stunned next to you, not really sure how to respond to the kiss and hug but after a few seconds he wrapped his arms around your middle and returned the hug. Part of you hoped he couldn’t feel how fast your heart was beating but at least you could put it down the the adrenaline if he did, staying wrapped up against him for longer than you usually would.

You only pulled back when the chocobo squawked, fluttering its wings in the night air and regarding the two of you. Looking at the bird you remembered your satchel, turning back to Prompto with a bashful expression.

“I actually have something for you too!”

“Wait, really?” He blinked owlishly at you as you grabbed your forgotten bag and opened it.

Carefully you took out the drawing, a little embarrassed about it now as it was nothing compared to his surprise. You handed it to him with a shy smile, he took it gently from your hands and stared at the drawing. He traced the paint lines, slowly smiling as he sees his own wild blond hair and cheeky grin.

“I love it,” He tells you, still looking at it as you shuffle in place.

“It’s nothing special, I just thought- well after all those photos at the chocobo place I thought it’d be nice but I mean you have the actual living thing in front of you now so I guess this is pointless-” It came out in a stream, only stopping when he looked up and made eye contact with you.

“I _love_ it,” he tells you again, bringing you forward with one hand.

This time he kissed your temple, his nose pressing into your hairline and you stood there stunned until he pulled back. You hadn’t seen this expression before you noted as his face came back into view, the smile was tender and his eyes were hooded as he regarded you. It left you feeling breathless.

“Cooool,” It came out before you could stop it, the moment broken when he guffawed, doubling over with small huffing noises while you let out a quiet groan.

“Cool,” He teased, smirking as you felt your face burning.

 _I wish I had died on that chocobo now_ you told yourself, fiddling with the material of your sweat pants and waiting for Prompto to compose himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Three chapters in three days damn, the next one will probably take me longer as I have work but thanks for reading so far!


	4. I'll cut you a deal

With a heavy shove you finally managed to force your door open, your hands clutching two very heavy bags packed with groceries and your face red from the effort of heaving them up the stairs. One swift kick closed the door again, your keys were discarded on the floor and with a great deal of effort you hauled the bags onto your kitchen counters, groaning as your muscles ached and your legs trembled. You barely made it to the couch before they gave out under you, collapsing face first into the the cushions with probably a little too much force but you didn’t care one bit.

Life in Lestallum had become hectic for you, it’d been almost two weeks since Prompto surprised you with a visit from the damn cutest chocobo you’d ever seen but he had to head off again the next day much to your envy. While the two of you were back to texting, he was still sending you photos of their adventures while you showed him what you were working on, he’d given your phone number to Iris and your non existent social life was given one hell of a kick.

She had called you and arranged lunch the same day, meeting up with you in the town square with a big smile and friendly wave. You’d spent three hours just talking, you answered her questions about Lestallum and about yourself while she told you all about the Crown City and a little about the boys although she kept a lot of her personal details hidden.

Not that you thought much of it, soldiers from Niflheim had been arriving in larger numbers recently and they were probably trying to keep a low profile. From what you could gather they did quite well for themselves back at their home, with a little sadness you wondered how they were coping with the deaths of their king and prince but you didn’t dare ask. You knew barely anything about Insomnia’s history or Lucis's history in general, growing up in such a rural area had given you a very closed off view of the world.  
Iris flying into your life filled in a lot of those details, with wonderment you listened as she talked about the technology available in the city and the life style. What she didn’t tell you Talcott did, Iris had taken you back to the Leville to meet her other friends staying in the city and the boy talked your ear off for another hour while his grandad teased him for his lack of manners.

Suddenly you were invited to come round for tea whenever you wanted, or Iris would call and ask if you wanted to go out shopping with her. You’d even introduced her to Blaise and the two hit it off immediately, the younger girl gushed about the plant being run by mostly women and asked about how it was working there and they ended up talking in depth about how women should be treated equally everywhere while you watched in fascination, nodding your head and making a small comment occasionally but content to hear the two women talk.

While it was an incredibly positive change, another way Prompto had managed to make your life so much brighter, you were exhausted. You hadn’t exactly been popular back at home, to the other families at least, and for months you were just used to having one person checking in on you but that number was growing by the day. Of course it was amazing just… different, something you would definitely have to get used to.

After a few minutes of lying face down on the couch cushions you managed to roll yourself over, staring up at your ceiling as your thoughts drifted to Prompto. You could still see the way he looked at you after you gave him the drawing, felt his fingers cupping the back of your neck as he brought you forward to copy your actions and kiss your temple.

You then groaned as you remember what you said next, the drawn out word sounding so uncertain and awkward that he collapsed into giggles. He was still teasing you about it over text and every time you’d resist the urge to yell into the nearest pillow.

Something was building between the two of you, at first it was just friendship and, honestly, you would have been thrilled for it to be left there but it seemed to be turning into something… more. Touches that lasted too long, sideways glances and unreadable smiles, he literally brought a chocobo to Lestallum because you said you loved them.

Now you couldn’t get him out of your head and that was terrifying.

Quickly you threw out the thought the second is came into your mind, moving into a sitting position on the couch and reaching for the remote hoping you’d find something to distract yourself. As some terrible comedy came on screen you relaxed, falling back against the cushions and willing your mind to clear.

Your calm came crashing down around you though as the tv sparked, loudly and violently, and you let out a yell of surprise. It made a fizzing pop noise then turned off, the screen going completely black while you stared flabbergasted.

“You are KIDDING me.” You yelled, tossing the remote to the other side of the couch and approaching the box.

You hesitantly looked around it, afraid to touch it out of fear of electrocution, trying to find something to explain the problem but you saw nothing. While you would consider yourself an intelligent person this was not your strong suit, you found it fascinating to watch your dad explain how he fixed the car or the radio but it never sunk in to a point where you learnt anything from it.

After another minute of inspecting it you decided to unplug it and ask Blaise if she knew anything about technology later. You could probably afford to fix it or even replace it but you were loath to, you held onto your money like a dragon sitting on it’s pile of gold. You were saving for school after all and it was not cheap, the more you spent on little things the guiltier you felt and it ended up putting you in a place where you felt like you couldn’t buy personal items.

Your phone buzzed on the table and you glanced at it, you smiled despite your current troubles when you saw Prompto’s name pop up. He liked to send you texts in bursts, it’d never be one message but three or five, his thoughts split up and jumbled as he tells you about what he’s doing. You liked it, he is so animated and peppy even over text and it never failed to brighten up your day. It was nice that you could tell it was him who was texting you as well, your phone nearly buzzing off the table on the days you two don’t stop talking.

Quickly you picked it up and flicked through the messages.

> P: were heading back to lestallum tomorrow btw!  
> P: we need to get more supplies and the big guy wants to check in on iris   
> P: noct is pretty sick of camping as well thank the six there's only so much room in that tent  
> P: i was thinking we could meet up!  
> P: if your not busy i mean

You let out a snort at the image of the four of them squished into one tent, while you hadn’t really gotten to know any of the other guys you could definitely see Noct not being into camping. He had an air of… privilege? You couldn’t really place why you thought that other than how the boy reacts in the few stories Prompto has told you.

Speaking of you were happy he was coming back, although you had to squish down your thoughts from earlier from rising up again.

> Y: Yay!! I have no idea how the four of you fit in that thing, doesn’t Gladio take up half the space? Anyway yeah I’d love to! Please distract me from my apartment falling apart
> 
> P: he insists he doesn’t but if he rolls onto his back his elbow collides with my stomach its not fun  
> P: wait your apartment is falling apart?
> 
> Y: Ahaha Its nothing, my tv literally just sparked and is seemingly dead. Don’t really want to buy a new one with my savings and I know NOTHING about fixing tech so RIP
> 
> P: if you want I can take a look? Not to brag but im pretty good with tech, i can probably help!  
> P: no charge for it either

You paused at that, holding your breath for a second as your eyes flicked from your phone screen to the tv. You remember Iris telling you he was interested in that stuff over lunch but he’d hadn’t brought it up much himself so you never got a chance to ask. It would be really helpful, while not an essential part of your life you did like being able to have it on in the background as you worked seeing as the radio signal could be iffy at times.

But you felt weird asking him to come over and not even compensate him for fixing it, it's not like you couldn’t afford to give him gil but you had a feeling even if you offered he’d refuse to take it.

> Y: Are you sure? I feel bad asking you to fix something for free
> 
> P: im offering dude! Let me at it, i miss tinkering with with this stuff  
> P: safely i promise, i’ll do my best not to cause a power outage  
> P: okay that joke wasn’t as funny as I thought it’d be
> 
> Y: Stop worrying, I laughed. I won’t be laughing if you actually cause a power outage, just saying.
> 
> P: so you’ll let me do it?

Biting your lip you thought over it again, humming over the the decision before an idea popped into your mind.

> Y: How about this, seeing as I feel bad for not paying you for it why don’t I cook us dinner to pay you back? I can even show you how to cook something if your still interested in learning!

After sending off the message a small wave of panic washed over you as you reread it.

“Wait, does that sound like a date?” You mumble, your eyes widening as you type out another message hastily.

> Y: I mean if you want to anyway like don’t worry if not, we can go get lunch out or something like last time.   
> Y: Or I can actually pay you for it, whatever you want to do!

There was a minute of silence and you could feel the heart palpitations in your chest, eventually you had to put the phone down and wipe your hands on the kitchen tea towel as sweat started to build on your palms. This was ridiculous, you knew he liked you and you liked him. So what if he read it as a date? Isn’t this what you want? Your thinking too much into it again, inexperience feeding into your anxiety.

You heard your phone buzz on the table and you hightailed it from your kitchen to it, grabbing it and checking the message.

> P: a pretty girl cooks me dinner? I’m sold!!

You reread the message a few times, a small smile creeping onto your face. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.

 

* * *

 

  
Prompto shoved his phone in his pocket with a wide grin, running to catch up with the others as Noctis finished packing up his finishing equipment. They’d been trying to find the Royal tombs across Lucis, preparing themselves before inspecting the Disc of Cauthess, but of course the prince wanted to take a break when they found themselves by another fishing spot called Neeglyss Pond.

He’d taken to checking his phone when Noct did this, while it was exciting when the prince pulled in a big fish he didn’t have the same excitement for the itty bitty ones, unlike Noctis whose eyes glittered every time he pulled one in. Prompto would sit on the port smiling at his screen, sending you photos or telling stories, which he could tell you loved from the gushing replies.

It was one of the few times he could text back, sitting with his feet dangling over a bunch of different lakes and coasts.

“Finally back with us?” Gladio rumbled, shooting the blond a knowing look as he approached.

“You certainly have been spending a lot of time with your nose glued to your phone,” Ignis added, pushing his glasses up as they walked back towards the Regalia.

“Only when we’re taking breaks!” Prompto defends with a frown.

“Make sure it stays that way, can’t have a member of the Crownsguard slacking off.” Gladio tells him with a playful shove, laughing when Prompto stumbles with the force.

“I’m already covering your ass constantly,” Noctis says with a smirk, catching up quickly with the group.

“Suuure you are,” Prompto jokes back, elbowing his friend in the side and chuckling when the prince shoots him a glare, “I just told her we're going back tomorrow…”

He pauses for a second, glancing at his best friend quickly until Noct rolls his eyes.  
“What is it?” He asked in an annoyed tone.

“If it's too painful Noct we can totally go somewhere else,” The blond says in a rush, “We could get supplies anywhere and rent a caravan. The headaches seem pretty bad whenever we’re there…”

“That's what your worried about?” Noctis asks incredulously, “It’s fine Prompto, I can deal with them. Besides we can't get the ingredients we need anywhere else and Gladio wants to see Iris, might as well stop by for a night or two.”

He ended the conversation with a shrug and Prompto felt a little better, his shoulders relaxing some. Ignis and Gladio were ready to tackle the problem at the Disc and stop the migraines but Noct had been putting it off, he wanted to finish all the other things on his list before seeing the titan. Not that Prompto could blame him, the idea of being face to face with such a powerful spirit was intimidating to say the least, might as well be as prepared as possible.

They finally got back to the Regalia and piled in, Prompto taking his usual seat up front as Ignis put in the coordinates for the previous haven they stayed in. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he quickly picked it up as the car pulled away and they headed towards their destination.

> Y: Great! Just bring yourself early evening tomorrow :)

Prompto grinned at the screen, starting to type a reply until he felt Noctis lean in, looking at the screen over his shoulder. He shoved the phone back down but the prince had already read the message, shooting Prompto a curious look.

“What's that about?” He asked.

“Nosey much?” Prompto shoots back but there's no real malice behind it, “Her tv broke so I’m going over to try and fix it, she’s gonna cook us dinner for the trouble, maybe even teach me how make something!”

He was excited, he had some spare parts and tools stored in the back of the car he could probably take with him and it was always better to have a girl cook for you. Especially a pretty one.

“So like… a date?” Noctis asks, a grin slowly spreading across his features.

“What? No!” Prompto splutters, his face going pink.

“Sounds like a date,” Gladio adds from behind him, causing him to further squirm in his chair.

“It’s not a date!” He denies again, a little more uncertainly this time.

“I see, well let's examine the situation,” Ignis starts, his eyes firmly on the road, “She’s going to cook for you, which you will likely join in with. Is it just for the two of you or are others invited?”

“...Just us?” Prompto replies, his voice an octave higher than usual.

“I see, definitely not a date.” The other man replies, but the smile on his face says otherwise.

“Kind of like how showing you around Lestallum and buying you lunch isn’t a date.” Gladio speaks up again, kicking the seat in front of him gently and shaking Prompto.

“And how bringing a chocobo all the way to her door step and teaching her how to ride it is definitely not a date.” Noctis teased, feigning uninterest by leaning into his palm and watching the road go by but he couldn’t get the smirk off his face.

“They were not dates, just… just…” Prompto was at a loss for words, trying to find something to say. “...Friends hanging out! Right? She's… not into me, is she?”

“Would it be bad if she was? I thought you liked her?” Noct asked, raising an eyebrow at his friend.

“I do! I really do, I just… didn’t think it was on the table?”

Prompto wasn’t exactly… experienced in this area, most of the girls he chased were either oblivious to it or made it clear they weren't not into him. You didn't react either way, in fact you seemed to be in the same boat as him, stumbling over words and making jokes out of awkward situations. Sometimes he thought you liked him back, the occasional flirty reply sent his way or the times your touch lingered on him coming to mind, but he played it off as him reading too much into it.

But was he? Or were you actually sending signals back?

“Oh my god, is it a date?” Prompto asked in a panic, his eyes widening as this information finally sank in.

“There it is,” He hears Noct snicker in the back seat.

“Finally someone has shown interest in him,” Gladio jokes back and Noct barely holds back a snort as Prompto turns in his seat to glare at the pair.

“You two are no help.” He mutters, turning from them and pushing himself back down into his seat.

“I can give you some of the pick up lines I use,” Gladio offers with a shrug.

“On second thought I don’t want your help!” Prompto responds quickly, resorting in another snort from Noctis.

One swift hard kick to the back of his seat told Prompto how the big guy felt about that, luckily they pulled into the side of the road before it could be taken any further. He could see the haven in the distance, the runes glowing blue in the fading light, and with a sigh he got out of the car.

Gladio and Noctis headed in front of them, grabbing the stuff out of the boot of the car before heading up towards their camp site. Prompto grabbed his own stuff and began to walk towards the pair but was stopped by Ignis, his hand quickly catching Prompto’s shoulder before he could walk away.

“A word Prompto?” He asks as the blond turns back to him.

“Uh sure Iggy, whats up?” Prompto asked hesitantly, fiddling with the bag strap over his shoulder.

The older man was silent for a second, clearly thinking through his words as Prompto shuffled his weight on his feet.

“Have you told her who we are? What we’re doing here?” Ignis asked eventually, crossing his arms.

“Oh, no I haven’t,” He replied, scratching the back of his neck, “I didn’t think it’d be wise to you know? I don’t think she’d tell any one! I just… I was worried it’d get her in trouble…”

“A wise decision,” Ignis agrees with a nod, “The empire's reach is long, they could use her against us. In fact they still could, if they find out the two of you are… close.”

He clearly didn’t want to get into this, his posture was stiff and face drawn. Prompto had thought about this before though, he’d assumed you’d be fine seeing as you just thought they were hunters and he never stayed in Lestallum for long enough to draw suspicion. You’d never pried too far into what he did or overstepped the lines when talking but… the closer you two got the more risk was involved.

He knew where Ignis was going with this.

“You think I should stop seeing her.” Prompto muttered, his posture deflating and eyes traveling to stare into the dirt at their feet.

“I think you should be very careful,” Ignis corrected, placing a hand back on the boys shoulder. “We have an important mission to accomplish, we can’t let ourselves be blinded from it or let outside influences change our course. However I’m not ordering you to stop this relationship, I’m simply asking for you to be aware and be smart. Not just for our sake but for hers as well”

The blond looked back up at his teammate, nodding his head slightly in understanding which Ignis returned before patting his shoulder and walking ahead of him and towards the others. Prompto turned to watch the man walk away, chewing his lip absently as he thought through Ignis’s words.

“Well now what am I gonna do?” He sighed exaggeratedly, groaning loudly into the afternoon sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long and it's short! I just started college so I'm pretty busy. Will update again soon!


End file.
